Cancer expected to overtake heart disease as No. 1 killer

2010-03-16T20:46:08Z2010-03-22T14:23:02Z

Washington -

(NBC) – Cancer is expected to overtake heart disease this year as the No. 1 reason people die in this country.

Last year, there were 1.5 million new cases, and over 500,000 people died. Now, new research gives hope to patients with colon and lung cancer, but raises concerns about what some scientists call an epidemic: skin cancer.

Harvard reports nearly 9 out of 10 people with advanced colon cancer get chemotherapy, unless they're over 75.

Elderly patients have a 50-50 chance of receiving treatment, but researchers found the elderly actually tolerate chemo just as well as younger patients and are less likely to get sick as a result.

There's also new hope for people with inoperable lung tumors.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy uses dozens of highly-focused beams to "gang up" on the tumor. The treatment increased survival rates for the deadliest cancer from less than 40 to 56 percent.

Meanwhile, there are new concerns about non-melanoma skin cancer. It's the most common malignant disease in the country, affecting over 13 million Americans.

Some doctors say skin cancer should be treated as a chronic disease. People who've had it are nine times more likely than the average American to be diagnosed again.

These studies and more are featured in this week's edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The issue is entirely devoted to cancer research.

The trailer was stolen between March 4 and March 6 from Cooper Construction (Source: HCPD Facebook)

The trailer was stolen between March 4 and March 6 from Cooper Construction (Source: HCPD Facebook)

The Horry County Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a stolen construction trailer. According to an online posting from HCPD, the trailer was stolen between March 4 and March 6 from Cooper Construction on Highway 90 in Longs.

The Horry County Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a stolen construction trailer. According to an online posting from HCPD, the trailer was stolen between March 4 and March 6 from Cooper Construction on Highway 90 in Longs.

Isolated severe thunderstorms are possible across the region on Tuesday as a strong cold front moves into the region. Tuesday will bring a chance of a few severe storms from the early afternoon into the mid evening.

Isolated severe thunderstorms are possible across the region on Tuesday as a strong cold front moves into the region. Tuesday will bring a chance of a few severe storms from the early afternoon into the mid evening.

HARSTVILLE, SC (WMBF) – The Darlington County Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating a shooting in the Hartsville area of Darlington County, according to Lt. Kilgo with the DCSO. The incident happened shortly before 6:00 p.m. in front of a house on McKeithans Street. Officers met with a victim who stated a male fired a handgun at him following an argument, but he was not injured. That victim is currently not cooperating with the investigation. If you have any infor...More >>

HARSTVILLE, SC (WMBF) – The Darlington County Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating a shooting in the Hartsville area of Darlington County, according to Lt. Kilgo with the DCSO. The incident happened shortly before 6:00 p.m. in front of a house on McKeithans Street. Officers met with a victim who stated a male fired a handgun at him following an argument, but he was not injured. That victim is currently not cooperating with the investigation. If you have any infor...More >>

(AP Photo/Jennifer Kay). Six crosses are placed at a makeshift memorial on the Florida International University campus in Miami on Saturday, March 17, 2018, near the scene of a pedestrian bridge collapse that killed at least six people on March 15.

A matter of seconds between those who would live and those who would die as Florida pedestrian bridge topples down highway bustling with passing vehicles.

Authorities say a missing Pennsylvania teenager and a 45-year-old man who frequently signed her out of school without her parents' permission have been located in Mexico, and the man has been arrested.

Authorities say a missing Pennsylvania teenager and a 45-year-old man who frequently signed her out of school without her parents' permission have been located in Mexico, and the man has been arrested.

(Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP). FBI agents work the scene of an explosion in Austin, Texas, Sunday, March 18, 2018. At least a few people were injured in another explosion in Texas' capital late Sunday, after three package bombs detonat...

Officials reported that an explosion in southwest Austin injured two men in their 20s who were hospitalized with injuries that didn't appear to be life-threatening.